lesson 3 Flashcards
Positivism claims:
- That these patterns can be identified.
- Through scientific procedures.
This implies that they should be captured (made visible) with formal, neutral methods. - Independent of what is being observed.
- Independent of who is observing.
Standardisation, measuring, and probability
Objectivism presupposes:
- That there is an objective social reality.
- That is external to / has impact on people’s behaviour and thinking.
We cannot control social reality even though it has a direct impact on us. - Through general patterns / universal laws.
Measurement
In a sense, measurement is just another way of reducing the complexity that can be found in reality, but in a very efficient way.
Theory
a coherent account that makes a part of reality understandable by identifying patterns.
Hypothesis; concrete claim about reality.
- Clearly formulated (unambiguous).
Since it has to be tested, it has to be able to be understood clearly.
‘Swans are actually green, but we see them as white.’ - Cannot be right or wrong (falsifiable)
You cannot make a statement that would apply to every possible situation. Make sure that the phrasing allows the theory to be falsified.
‘Some swans are white.’ - Cannot be normative.
It must be objective.
‘Swans are beautiful.’ - Can be tested with a certain method.
Check whether it holds up to reality. You can look at a large number of swans.
‘Swans possess an intrinsic, ineffable essence of grace.’
Example of acceptable hypotheses:
* ‘Swans are white.’
* ‘Most swans are white.’
o ‘Most’ a more probabilistic way. There is still a very clear benchmark to reject this theory because ‘most’ means the majority.
Operationalisation
Turning abstract theory into something that can be measured, empirically, and quantitatively.
For many fields, including social science, which often use ordinal measurements, operationalisation is essential. It determines how the researchers are going to measure an emotion or concept, such as the level of distress or aggression. Such measurements are arbitrary, but allow others to replicate the research, as well as perform statistical analysis of the results.
Operationalisation involves identifying the specific research procedures we will use to gather data about our concepts.
* Concepts
* Variables
* Dimensions
* Indicators
* Measurement levels
Concepts
the main building blocks of theories and represent the point around which social research is conducted.
E.g. structure, agency, social class, emotional satisfaction, healthy lifestyle.
Each represents a label that we give to elements of the social world that seem to have common features and that strike us as significant.
If a concept is to be employed in quantitative research, it will have to be measured. Once they are measured, concepts can be in the form of independent of dependent variables. In other words, concepts may provide an explanation of a certain aspect of the social world, or they may stand for things we want to explain.
They are what theories are about; the label you apply to reality, the thing in reality that you identify as relevant. This is why any scientific study should start with conceptualisation.
Conceptualisation
Delineating what your theory is about specifically (and, by implication, also what it is not about).
‘Theory about the colour of swans.’
‘Theory about the relation between social position and the taste for art.’
Variables
Concepts identify parts of reality, but to study the concepts, you have to turn it into something you can measure and that can be categorised. The result of the conceptualisation is what variables are. Basically, it’s:
* A characteristic consisting of more than one state (categories), contains different entities.
* Individual cases that can be put into one category.
* So, a characteristic that can vary.
Anything that can vary can be considered a variable. For instance, age can be considered a variable because age can take different values for different people or for the same person at different times. Similarly, country can be considered a variable because a person’s country can be assigned a value.
E.g.
Concept – sex.
Variable – sex.
Categories – male/female.
Concept – age.
Variable – age.
Categories – number of years.
Independent variable
what you (or your nature) can manipulate – a treatment, or program, or cause.
Dependent variable
what is affected by the independent variable – your effects or outcome
Dimensions
Consists of different dimensions.
Cannot be captured by a single variable.
Indicators
In order to provide a measure of concept, it is also necessary to have an indicator that will stand for the concept. Some variables can be directly observed empirically, such as colour, age, sex, education level, etc. while some variables require observation through a number of ‘clues’. This is the role of indicators.
Wealth money, property, stocks, etc.
Cultural consumption music, theatre, visual arts, television, etc.
Likert scale
Nominal variables – dummy/dichotomous
Things that we encounter in reality, it can only by either this or that. If we say a thing is one thing, then it cannot be another thing.
* Just a nominal variable, but with only two categories.
* ‘Either this or that’ / yes or no.
* Also known as dichotomous variable.
* Special case; very popular in statistics.
